Bear It
by Water-Soter
Summary: Sometimes all someone can do is grin and bear it. Tony-centered. Episode Tag Boxed In


**Title: **Bear It

**Author: **Water-Soter

**Summary:** Sometimes all someone can do is grin and bear it. Tony-centered

**Main Characters/Pairings: **Tony and the rest of the gang.

**Series: **Boxed In Episode Tag

**Author's Notes: **This story is for the Last Writer Standing first prompt, which was missing scenes. I chose this one because I always wondered what happened after the episode ended. Huge thanks to ScifiLemon for the quick beta, you rule girl! I'm trying a new style of writing, so please let me know what you think!

**Feedback: **Absolutely! I'm new at this and English is not my native language, so please constructive criticism is very welcomed.

**Warning: **nothing really. So enjoy.

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Clunking him over the head with a baseball bat would had been kinder, considering he felt as though an eighteen wheeler had run him over multiple times. Dark eyes bright with amused smugness stared back at him as his throat fought against the lump that had decided to camp there. Nasty things, those dry clumps because Tony's brain wasn't doing much better. Any and every witty comment that could have sprout forward in response short-circuited and went up in smoke.

Ziva stood like a cat that had eaten a flock of canaries at his desk, clearly enjoying the fruits of a well-played scheme. And Tony, like a tongue tied rookie, was too busy trying to get his facial muscles in some semblance of control to do anything other than gape in stupefied surprised.

Somewhere to his left, McGeek's self-congratulatory grin shone like a beacon to Tony's "I'll get you later" radar. The part of his consciousness that was not stuck in a permanent "What!" was already planning ways to make McGoo's life a living hell.

Abby's own mischievous smirk was slowly losing wattage since Tony's brain was still processing what had just happened. The conclusions it drew was making other parts of his anatomy churn and twist uncomfortably.

He'd been played. The sheer incredulousness of it kept swimming up and down his cranium. He'd been blind-sided, sucker punched, led around by the nose like some greenhorn probie, and _his_ own team had played the role of co conspirators to the tee. Both thoughts collided and shuffled and Tony fought hard to bring some control before he let too much show.

"Tony, are you ready to go?"

He pushed the DiNozzo grin front and center, squashing all thoughts but those of the here and now. Not how much his pride had been stung and not that something that made his insides want to become his outsides. He considered his options. There didn't seem to be anything he could do to without either seeming overly childish nor losing what little dignity he had left.

Somewhere to his left, Gibbs's gaze bore into him. It felt like a tangible heat on the side of his face. There was a moment of silence that drew McGoo away from his mind meld with his computer, and all attention centered on him.

With an internal sigh, Tony put on his most infamous DiNozzo grin, and locked eyes with Ziva, "Sure thing, _Zee-vah_," He mentally winced at how over-the-top his voice had sounded. To make up for it, he made a flourish of grabbing his bag. Whining and playing the pity card as the movement pulled at his stitches.

Abby reacted like Tony knew she would; fluttering around him like a bee on pollen. She even took his bag from him as McGoo rolled his eyes and muttered about it only being a scratch. Tony's resulting smirk would have made a shark proud. He ignored Gibbs's gaze that followed him as he made his way to the elevator with a resigned air of a man condemned; Ziva leading the way.

He was going to deal with this like he would with any other terribly uncomfortable situation he'd ever been thrust into. Like a DiNozzo. Like the child that had grown up in a household where children were nothing more than a noisy annoyance. As the elevator's door closed in front of him, and Ziva turned mildly uncertain eyes his way, Tony did what he always did, he just grinned and bared it.

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**End Notes: **I hope you guys liked, it's the shortest story I have ever written so please let me know what you think. The good, the bad and the ugly, :-P


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